Bicycle Mechanics - Chain removal tool necessary?

It's a Shimano 8-speed chain (~10years old) never done much maintenance before and was looking at removing the chain and giving the old girl the cleaning of her life. Do I need the chain tool (http://www.parktool.com/products/category.asp?cat=5) or can I get by without?

Chain tool for sure and a replacement pin to boot.

Before you pull the chain measure it for stretch. By now, you may need a new chain. bk

you can clean the chain on the bike and don't need to take it off in the first place unless it's severely rusted or needs replacement due to wear.

that said, a chain tool is not a bad investment.

that said, a chain tool is not a bad investment.

+1 Very handy when you want to replace a chain. You should be able to pick one up for about $15. I got a light one (http://www.niagaracycle.com/product_info.php?products_id=3155), but it seems to work well for replacing 2-3 chains a year. I notice that you can now buy off-brand ones for as low as $7.

Thanks for the reply's.

You need a chain tool for removing a Shimano chain but you should replace it with a SRAM chain with the replacable link to avoid the problem of getting the pin pushed in correctly.

You need a chain tool for removing a Shimano chain but you should replace it with a SRAM chain with the replacable link to avoid the problem of getting the pin pushed in correctly.

you still need a chain tool to cut the SRAM chain to the appropriate size.

Umm.. I'm pretty sure if this bike has never seen maintenance, then the chain is stretched past replacement. If you change the chain, it will skip on the cogs.

So either A: replace the cogs, chain and possibly chainrings, or B: keep riding it until it starts skipping on its own.

And you do not need a SRAM chain to use a SRAM powerlink. They work just as well on Shimano chains. I have them on my Shimano chains to make it easy to remove and clean the chain when needed. Never had a bit of problem with them. A good investment.

And you do not need a SRAM chain to use a SRAM powerlink. They work just as well on Shimano chains. I have them on my Shimano chains to make it easy to remove and clean the chain when needed. Never had a bit of problem with them. A good investment.

I'll second the above^^^. I keep a few kicking around. One in my onboard toolkits.

what is chain stretch?

It's not really stretch, but that's what it is referred to a lot. Per Sheldon Brown:
The major cause of chain "stretch" is wearing away of the metal where the rivet rotates inside of the bushing (or the "bushing" part of the inside plate) as the chain links flex and straighten as the chain goes onto and off of the sprockets. If you take apart an old, worn out chain, you can easily see the little notches worn into the sides of the rivets by the inside edges of the bushings. With bushingless chains, the inside edge of the side plate hole that rubs against the rivet has a smooth radius instead of a sharp corner.

This causes the chain to be slightly longer and thereby will cause the chain rings and sprockets to have an asymetrical (sp?) wear pattern in the metal. Typically measured by placing a steel rule (or accurate tape measure) along the chain and measuring for the center of a pin to the center of a ping that should be twelve inches away. Many people vary on the opinion of when to replace the chain, but 12-1/8 inches instead of 12 is about the starting point of when to replace a chain before the chain rings and sprockets start to show abnormal wear. Some like to replace chain rings and sprockets (cassette) every two to four chains replacements. YMMV.

okay, cool, i understand. thanks!

But replace the chain by the time a 24 pin interval becomes 12 1/16th inches. An 1/8th" over is too much.

Al

If you've read Sheldon's page on this subject, you should have a good idea of what a worn cog/chainring look like... If yours are not in that bad of a condition, I'd replace the chain. This is for 2 reasons. 1. It is very old (rusty too?) 2. You think it is dirty/nasty enough to need a good cleaning.... may as well get rid of it before it damages your cogs.

Make sure you get an '8-speed' replacement chain... a 10-spd chain probably won't fit your sprockets.

In case you haven't noticed, chains are a touchy subject... lol.

Anyway, have fun riding